“To reject theology is to reject the knowledge of God, which is never an option for believers.” -John Armstrong
It has been many, many months since I last posted something. But, I always come back…
As you may have noticed if you’ve read my blog before, I’ve done away with all previous posts. I felt that it was time for a brand new start, and by golly, I can do that sort of thing if I want to.
So,… let’s fill some cyberspace, shall we?
Of late, I’ve been concerned with a few matters of faith. But easily, the one that’s concerned me the most is the manner which the average Christian treats Biblical study.
A short time ago, a USA Today poll revealed that only 11% of Americans read their Bible everyday. More than half read it less than once a month or never at all. 18% of born-again Christians read their Bibles once a day, while 23% who professed to be Christians said they never read their Bibles at all.
My initial thought on these statistics was something to the effect of, “Whoa! That’s ridiculous!”. But, lo and behold…
As bad as all that sounds, Americans actually read their Bibles more that other countries with large percentages of professing Christians!
When asked if they’d read a phrase from the Bible in the past year (see: quotes on t-shirts, bumper stickers, etc.), 75 percent of American respondents said yes, while between 20 percent and 38 percent of respondents in the other eight countries said yes. Yikes! That means either they’ve neither purposely or accidentally been exposed to ANY form of Scripture, or even worse, if they were, they didn’t even recognize it as such!
In conclusion of the poll, the lowest were Spain with 20 percent, France with 21 percent, Italy with 27 percent, and Germany with 28 percent.
So, in a nation where the average household owns 3 Bibles, I can only assume we’re using them as paper weights, door stops, or presses for our hamburger patties… Because we’re certainly NOT reading them.
“I venture to say that the bulk of Christians spend more time in reading the newspaper than they do reading the Word of God.” -C.H. Spurgeon
This, of course is the BIG problem. But the problem I intend to address is this… The vast minority of Americans who actually do read their Bibles seem to have only a topical knowledge of the actual Word itself. They know there is “a God”, but they don’t truly know who God is. They know that Jesus “died for sinners”, but they don’t understand the depth of that statement. They may even know there is a Heaven and Hell, but they don’t grasp the necessity of treating that fact with somber urgency.
Consider for yourself what you know of the Bible and it’s contents. How do you stack-up in comparison to this Gallup poll..?
-Only half of adults interviewed nationwide could name any of the four Gospels of the New Testament.
-Just 37% of those interviewed could name all four Gospels.
-Only 42% of adults were able to name as many as five of the Ten Commandments correctly.
-70% were able to name the town where Jesus was born, but just 42% could identify him as the person who delivered the Sermon on the Mount.
George Barna also polled Americans based upon their severe lack of true Biblical knowledge and found what follows.
-38% of Americans believe the entire Bible was written several decades after Jesus’ death and resurrection (While this is true of the New Testament, the entire Old Testament was written hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus Christ).
-12% of adults believe that Noah’s wife was Joan of Arc.
-49% believe that the Bible teaches that money is the root of all evil. (The love of money is said to be the root of all types of evil).
-75% believe that the Bible teaches that God helps those who help themselves.
A phrase I like to use, that I’m relatively sure I swiped from somebody else goes like this. “Would you trust a doctor whose primary medical school study consisted of an hour of lecture time per week? How then can we expect non-Believers to put any more faith in us when that’s the extend of our commitment to the study of God’s Word?”
I’ve found from personal experience that until the time came that I willingly submerged myself in Theological study of Scripture, I never truly had an effective walk with God.
Why would anyone want to spend an eternity worshiping a stranger, when God has given us ample opportunity in His Word to get to know Him on a very personal and profound level?
As Americans, we are an ADHD people. Anything that requires lengthy thought and study is all-but-impossible for us. So, short of submitting ourselves to some sort of discipline, we will continue to have a remedial understanding of the Bible at best. But, is that good enough? No…
God holds His Word in very high regard…
16All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. -2 Timothy 3:16, 17
We must consider that the Holy Bible is not merely a book, but the very means by which God communicates with us. Every question that we will ever need answered while on the earth can be found in the pages of the Bible.
“Bible reading enables us…to enjoy communion with God as He speaks to us from His word, encouraging us, instructing us, and revealing Himself to us.” -Jerry Bridges
So, as I endeavor to more deeply study the Word of God myself, I propose a challenge to you to do the same. Don’t merely read it then put it down. Read it, compare it to other (accurate) translations to help understand it (if necessary), and use study sources to examine the parallels and connections throughout Scripture. It can truly be fascinating. But, above all else, take the time to be alone with the Word and after reading it, pray and meditate on it. God is more than happy to reveal Himself to those who seek Him. Bank on that!
“Merely reading the Bible is no use at all without we study it thoroughly, and hunt it through, as it were, for some great truth.” -D.L. Moody
